Amanda: You can't charge me with double murder! That's legally impossible!
Judge Sterling: Under the Fetal Protection Act of this state, assaulting a pregnant woman resulting in severe bodily harm to both mother and child carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole!
Amanda: Life sentence?! You're lying! You're abusing your power!
Judge Sterling: I wrote the legal precedent for that statute ten years ago, Amanda. I know every word of it by heart.
The paramedics carefully lifted Cora onto the padded stretcher, securing safety straps around her waist and shoulders while keeping her head elevated.
Paramedic 1: We need to transport her to Saint Jude’s Trauma Center immediately for emergency surgery to stop the internal bleeding.
Judge Sterling: I am coming with you in the ambulance.
Cora: Thomas... the briefcase... don't let her lawyers destroy the real will...
Judge Sterling: The original will is locked in my personal vault at the High Court, Cora. Julian gave it to me six months ago for safekeeping. You and your son are the sole beneficiaries of the entire forty-million-dollar estate.
Amanda’s eyes widened in complete horror as the final piece of her plot shattered into dust. She had spent two years manipulating Julian, forging corporate documents, and stealing bank funds, all for a fortune she would never touch.
Amanda: He... he gave you the original will?! He told me he lost it!
Judge Sterling: My son was many things, Amanda, but he was not a fool. He knew you were trying to isolate him from his family. He placed the original documents in my hands the moment he learned Cora was pregnant.
Amanda: Julian lied to me... He used me to manage his company while planning to give everything to her?!
Judge Sterling: He didn't use you. He was investigating you. The police were already preparing a federal arrest warrant for your embezzling before his car accident occurred.
Two city police officers stepped through the main entrance, pulling steel handcuffs from their utility belts as they walked up the stairs toward Amanda.
Police Officer 1: Amanda Vance? You are under arrest for attempted murder, aggravated assault, corporate fraud, and grand theft.
Amanda: Get your hands off me! I demand to see my attorney right now!
Police Officer 2: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
The metallic click of the handcuffs locking around Amanda’s wrists rang out clearly across the grand hall. Her high-end black suit was crumpled, her hair disheveled, and her leather briefcase left scattered in pieces across the dirty stairs.
Judge Sterling: Escort her to the central holding facility. Make sure she is placed in solitary confinement under high-risk suicide watch.
Amanda: Chief Justice Sterling! Please! Work out a settlement with me! I'll give back all the offshore money! Millions of dollars!
Judge Sterling: The State does not settle with domestic terrorists who shove pregnant mothers down stone staircases, Amanda. Enjoy your new home.